In order for the joints between drywall panels to disappear so that the walls and ceilings are smooth, a compound known as joint compound is employed. First, joint compound is applied over the joints in excess and allowed to dry. Second, the excess compound is removed by a sander. It is the removal of the excess joint compound that is often difficult as well as tedious.
Traditionally, a non-motorized, hand or pole sander was most commonly utilized to remove joint compound. However, use of a non-motorized sander often led to user fatigue and was very time consuming. Thus, the non-motorized, hand or pole sander has generally been replaced with a motorized drywall sander including a rotational sanding pad head.
Although currently available motorized drywall sanders have increased the speed in which the compound may be removed, such sanders are limited. First, the amount of time required to complete a sanding job may be actually increased when using such sanders when compared to a non-motorized sander. For example, while the speed of compound removal is increased with use of a motorized sander the overall time associated with the job may not be shortened because of the large amount of dust generated by the motorized sander, making clean-up more difficult and thus, time consuming.
Currently, two primary solutions have been employed to reduce the clean-up time associated with the sanding of drywall with a motorized sander. One solution confines the generated dust by the placement of plastic sheets over all openings leading to dwelling areas in which drywall work is not occurring. In addition to separating the work area from the other dwelling areas, a box fan may be placed in an open window in order to blow the dust outdoors. Such solution confines the majority of dust to the room in which the sanding is being performed, however, the user will still have significant clean-up in such room. In the alternative, a second solution which reduces the total clean-up significantly is the attachment of a dust collection system to the motorized sander whereby a vacuum draws the sanded drywall dust into a dust collecting vessel as the drywall compound is removed.
Although the utilization of a dust collection system with a motorized sander has greatly reduced the amount of dust and therefore, clean-up required, users of such sanders are currently required to purchase multiple sizes and types of these sanders to accomplish a single job. For instance, a user may need a pole sander to reach the ceiling, but wish to use a hand sander for jobs close to the ground. Further, to accomplish inside corner sanding a sander with a triangular head instead of a circular head may be desired. As a result, the user is forced to purchase multiple sanders or to use a sander which may not result in a completely smooth area because access is limited.
Therefore, it would be desirable to provide a drywall sander system capable of adjustment in length and collecting dust and debris, which system includes differently shaped interchangeable sanding heads to allow for multiple types of areas to be sanded with use of a single tool in an efficient manner.